A federal jury convicted an Ohio pharmacist and his operations manager, a pharmacy technician, for conspiring to defraud Ohio’s Medicaid program. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nathanael Thompson, 45, of Westerville, owned four pharmacies in Columbus, Ohio. Sanam Ahmad, 34, of Galena, managed the pharmacies. Thompson and Ahmad conspired to charge Medicaid for a particular manufacturer’s omeprazole, a type of proton pump inhibitor, which was reimbursable at a significantly higher rate than most omeprazole. In reality, the dispensed medication was generic omeprazole purchased at big-box warehouse retail stores. In addition, to maximize profits, Thompson’s pharmacies put in place certain protocols to dispense omeprazole as though a doctor had prescribed the drug even when there was no prescription. The jury convicted Thompson and Ahmad of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and two counts of defrauding Medicaid. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and each healthcare fraud charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
